Visions of Deacon wandering amidst the bright lights and vibrancy of that foreign city ran through my head. He’d have his pick of any beautiful Japanese woman he wanted. And they’d all flock to the gorgeous, larger-than-life American man.
Someone knocked on the bathroom door. Crap. I’d spent way too long in here. Deacon was going to wonder what happened to me.
“Be right out!”
My eyes were still red. Deacon would know I’d been crying if I returned now. With someone waiting, though, I felt pressured to leave. I’d have to sneak outside for a few minutes before going back.
When I opened the door, a woman stood there. She looked pissed.
I walked past her and made my way to the exit. The cool outside air hit my face as I leaned against the brick building, planning to take out my compact and make myself look presentable before returning to the party. Hiding my tears with more makeup was going to be a challenge, but I would manage. Masking my emotions on the other hand? That had never been my forte, especially when they hit me as hard as they had tonight.
Before I had a chance to dig my mirror out of my purse, I heard his voice.
“Carys—Jesus. Adrian told me he saw you walk out the door, and I didn’t know what to think. I—” He stopped talking. “Are you crying?”
Am I supposed to deny it? A sniffle escaped me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to see me like this. I came out here to get some air.” Looking down at the sidewalk, I said, “I feel so stupid that you caught me. It’s just…when you were saying all that stuff, how you were sad to leave, saying goodbye to Sunny, it brought out everything I’ve been feeling since the day you told me you were moving away.” I looked up. “Deacon, what if after Monday I never see you again? This sucks. And I’m sorry I’m not handling it better. I didn’t want to show it.”
I shut my eyes, regretting having let my vulnerability escape. Then I felt his hands wrap around my face. My eyes flew open, only to close again at the feel of his hot mouth on my lips. I might have stopped breathing for a second. My legs felt weak as I melted into him. When it hit me that this was really happening, I opened wider, letting his tongue inside and remembering all too well what it felt like on other parts of my body. But despite the intimacy of that night, this moment was different—more passionate than sexual. I tasted him for the first time, breathing him in like oxygen. And I couldn’t get enough.
He flicked his tongue to nudge my mouth open wider. His chest pressed into mine, my back still against the brick of the building. Deacon’s heart beat rampantly as our tongues circled in frantic competition. I lifted my hands and placed them around his head, pulling him deeper into me and inhaling his heady scent. The vague sense of people passing us registered, as did the muffled sound of talking around us.
His groan vibrated down my throat as he fisted my hair. “Fuck, Carys.”
I could feel his erection through his pants as it rubbed against me. My clit was throbbing with need. If he’d wanted to take me on this damn sidewalk, pretty sure I would have let him.
An indeterminate amount of time passed, our kiss lasting what felt like several minutes, neither of us willing to stop. I was certain this was going to make his leaving even worse for me, but that wasn’t enough to pull me away. Nothing could have torn me from the delicious taste of his hot lips or his intoxicating scent.
Deacon finally broke our kiss, but not before returning his mouth to mine to bite my bottom lip before letting it go.
He panted as he placed an arm on either side of me, locking me in against the wall. “Your fucking lips. I’ve dreamed about doing that for so long. And it was even better than I imagined. I could kiss you forever.”
“I wish you hadn’t stopped,” I said, my hands still wrapped around the back of his neck.
The streetlights reflected in his eyes. “I’m gonna go back in there and apologize to my friends, let them know I have to leave early. Half of them are so sloshed they won’t even care. Then I want you to come back to my apartment so we can talk. Okay?”
I had no clue what was left to talk about, but I nodded in agreement, still dazed as he walked away. I rubbed my bare arms as I waited.
A few minutes later, Deacon reappeared and grabbed my hand as I followed him to the curb. As luck would have it, an empty cab approached almost immediately. Deacon lifted his arm to flag it down. We both got in, and he gave our address to the driver.